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Pull off on the side of Diamond Head Crater.

View of Black Point and Maunalua Bay.

Johnny, Sandra, Gail, and Fred

Hanauma Bay

Fantastic Snorkeling in the shallow reef which fills this bay.

The Hanauma Bay was formed by a Tuff Cone that evenutally settled enough into the Sea that the waters broke through and created the Bay.

Koko Head is the land mass in the distance forming the right side of the bay.

Life guards posted on surf board.

Coastline in Koko Head Regional Park.

Fisherman on Halona Point.

Beach where the scene in the 1950’s movie, From Here to Eternity was filmed.

From Here to Eternity Beach reprise by a couple of lovers.

More 911 calls to this beach than any on the island because of the sharp shore breaking waves.

Sandy Beach Park.

Makapu’u Beach Park

Views from Nu’uanu Pali Lookout.

Ferrel chickens and cats were everywhere. Neither cats nor chickes are endemic to the islands.

Ridge on the left is the remnant of the Koolau Volcano that formed the east side of the Island.

Mokapu

The lookout where we are standing is at the Nu’uanu Pali cliff where the Ohau Islanders made their final stand against the forces of King Kamehameha the Great. The pile of over 700 skeletons at the bottom of the cliff bear witness to how the battle ended.

Kane’ohe

Kane’ohe Bay on the right.

Ulupa’u Crater at the end of Mokapu Penninsula

Gnarled tree on Nu’uanu Pali. The breeze through here almost never stops.

Byodo-In Buddist Temple in the Valley of Temples.

The “door-bell” of the temple.

Happy Fish!

I don’t know why they call them Koi… they are not shy at all!

Love the little girl’s look of astonishment. I heard her father encourage her and soon she was hand feeding the swan.

The Valley of Temples is set up against the Koo’lau ridge which is what remains of the huge Caldera of the volcano.

Our tour was very good. Levent did a great job.

There was also a Catholic and a Luthern church cemetary in the Valley.

View south across Kane’ohe Bay with Mokoli’i Island, also known as Chinaman’s Hat on the left.

Kualoa Ridge. This ridge and the next 3 or 4 valley are all part of the Kualoa Ranch.

The Kualoa Ranch has been the site of numerous movies and TV shows.

Kahana Bay and Beach Park.

Crouching Lion Rock across Kahana Bay.

View acrss La’ie Bay from Kalanai Point.

Wild Pheasant in Malaekahana Bay State Recreation Areal.

Sunset Beach on the North Shore.

Classic Islan View.

She just couldn’t decide if she wanted to get in the water.

I think she was just posing.

Waimea Bay on Oahu.

A wild pheasant in not so wild surroundings.

Ready to hike to Wiamea Falls.

The state flower of Hawai’i, the yellow hibiscus.

Entering an ancient Hawaiian Village.

Even the trees were attentive to Levent’s explanation.

Levent tells us about the way of life in a Hawaian Village.

Happy tourists… not in our group.

Cococut palms. Levent told us more people die from coconuts hitting people on the head that from Shark attacks on the island.

Our Oahu Tour Group.

Waimea Falls.

Waimea means fresh water of a reddish color.

The reddish muddy color comes from the large amount of iron content in the soil.

One of the sadder facts about Hawaii is that it is the extinction capitol of the world. Because the environment is so good almost anything of either flora or fauna will grow well.

Much of the endemic species had existed here without significant competition.

So when new species were introduced that had a more competitive nature, the endemic species were at a disadvantage and quickly suffered loss.

I believe Levent told us that up to 80% of the flora and fauna here now are not native.

And most of the native species that remain exist in only very small and isolated locations.

State Flower again.

Better view of the Hawaiian Village.

The path from falls to visitor center.

This bird decided out bus was not the right bus.

A North Shore favorite jumping rock.

First Green Sea Turtle. Scientists aren’t sure why they do it, but the Green Sea turtles of Hawaii are the only Sea Turtles that come up on land seemingly just for the fun of it.

These Monkey-pod trees form a beautiful canopy in many places on the island.

Everywhere else, Sea Turtles only come ashore to lay eggs.

But the beaches here are just too inviting for the Green Sea Turtles who seem to enjoy sun-bathing in the afternoons.

A beautiful afternoon for a stroll on the Oahu North Shore.

Levent told us this female Sea Turtle, #47, frequently suns on this beach.

Dole Pineapple Plantation. All the pineapples grown here are for island use only. It is too expensive to grow and ship from here compared to other parts of the world.

The Wai’anae Mountain range which is the remaining caldera side of the earliest volcano to form the island of Oahu.

Dole Pineapple Plantation

Several surfers handing loose for the final waves of the day.

View of Diamond Head Crater at sunset from our pier.

Throughout our stay in Hawaii we heard “Aloha!” both in greeting and as a goodbye.  Every tour guide we met referred to the importance of the word in conveying the Hawaiian sense of love, affection, peace, compassion, and mercy.  It was always said with a smile and, in many cases, with a hug or a kiss on the cheek.

We attended a Luau one night and the Chief spoke of the ancient roots of the word in the Polynesian language.  It seems the word is the combination of “Alo” which means to meet or stand face to face and the word “Ha” which carries the sense of breath or life or spirit.  So it has a sense of being in close connection with another and sharing the same breath or sharing life together.

As I heard this description my mind went to Jesus’ first appearance to His disciples after His resurrection.  It’s recorded in the 20th chapter of the book of John.

‘On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” ‘  John 20:19-22

Jesus is unique among all religious leaders.  In fact, Jesus would scoff at being called a religious leader.  Jesus spoke very plainly and clearly about Who He was.  He said He was God’s Son.  He said there was only one way to enter into a face to face relationship with God and that was through Him.  His disciples didn’t understand what He meant when He first told them, but with His resurrection, the truth began to become clear.  Jesus was God’s solution to man’s problem.  God is Holy and Perfect.  Sin cannot stand in God’s presence, yet His love desires to be joined with His children.  Therefore imperfect people cannot stand in God’s presence, but Jesus intervened on our behalf and in our place.  That’s what the cross was.  Jesus accepting the punishment for sin, for our sin, in our place so that we could be able to enter into a relationship with God.

I mentioned that Jesus was unique.  Others have made mighty proclamations.  But no others have been able to demonstrate their deity because they were mere men or women.  Only Jesus conquered death.  Only Jesus rose from the grave to be witnessed by hundreds after a very public and very real death.  Jesus proved Who He was by His resurrection. That proof is also supported by the transformed lives of thousands into millions who have experienced a personal relationship with the living Lord.  I am one of them.

Jesus may not be Hawaiian, but I believe He is probably okay with the definition of Aloha that the chief gave at our Luau.  I know He is calling people to come meet with Him face to face, to put their trust in Him, to turn from a life of trusting anything and everything else and to turn to Him.  Jesus is waiting.  He wants to breath His Spirit into His children.  Let today be the day you lean into Jesus and say “Yes”… you put your trust in Him and say “I’m Yours”… you step off the throne of your life and say, “My Lord and my God.”  If you speak Hawaiian, you just might hear Him say, “Aloha, my child.  I’ve been waiting for this moment since the day I first thought of you.  Receive My Spirit and enter my rest.”

Be blessed my friends and pass it on!

Note: These pictures are from our first full day in Oahu when we took the Ultimate Circle Tour of Oahu with our guide, Levent, and a van full of new friends like Sandra, Johnny, Fred, and Gail.  (Sorry we got separated at the end of the day like we did.  Hope you had a great wrap-up to your trip.)

Please feel free to view an download any pics that you like.  More to follow in the coming days.